Saudi Prince Sultan Bin Turki has disappeared after allegedly being kidnapped by the Royal Family of Saudi Arabia. On 1st February, the defected royal boarded a flight from Paris to Cairo. It didn’t arrive at it’s destination, but was rumoured to actually have been a Saudi plane taken which returned to the Middle Eastern country.
One of the Prince’s associates said: “There was a Saudi plane with a flight plan to Cairo but the plane did not fly to Cairo. This airplane had a Saudi flag on the tail. This plane came from the kingdom.”
Known for advocating for reform in that country, the Prince’s relationship with the Saudi government is caustic. He filed legal charges in 2004 after an alleged kidnapping by the royal family. The case is still ongoing. He has since had to employed 24-hour personal protection.
A Saudi senior royal even attempted to reassure Prince Sultan Bin Turki himself.
Another of the royal’s associates said: “He [the senior royal] called him two or three times, talking with full courtesy, he even sent him some money. When the Sultan decided to come from Paris to Cairo, the senior royal said ‘Don’t worry, we will arrange that for you’ and apparently he felt comfortable. But it was a big mistake and he paid the price.”
And yet another associate spoke of the last communication they had with the Prince. “Last call we had he was laughing and said as a joke ‘I am supposed to come to Cairo this week by royal aircraft. If you didn’t find me they have taken me to [Saudi capital] Riyadh, try to do something’.”
During the past 12 months, Prince Sultan Bin Turki is the third Saudi prince to disappear under suspicious circumstances.
In September, Prince Saud bin Saif al-Nasr bin Saud bin Abdulaziz al-Saud, publicly criticised the Saudi government, demanding the removal of the current crown prince. He is rumoured to be in Saudi Arabia’s capital, Riyadh. And in July, Prince Turki bin Bandar disappeared on the way to Morocco.
Family feud!